Highlights of the present unwrapping included multiple pranks. Adam, Lindsay’s oldest brother, played basketball at FSU and hates all things Gators. So I of course bought a Florida Gator Christmas ornament and attached it to a present Lindsay had wrapped for Adam without her knowing. When she picked up the present, it took all of my will power to keep a straight face. She kept going…”This is your present Adam but I didn’t put this on here!” She tried to get my present off but I had taped it to the real present. When Adam opened the present, he just said, “Ohhhhh that’s dirty” and I finally lost it and started laughing my ass off.

Poor Adam was in for a rough day as later on he unwrapped a present with his name on it that was a Wii. Only to have Lindsay go, “Oh…I’m so sorry Adam, that is for Kevin…Mom and I must have gotten the presents mixed up!” The look on his face was priceless! They eventually gave him his own Wii later.

I ended up making out well: A Wii, nice cufflinks, two shirts, and some smaller presents and prank gifts thrown in. I gave Lindsay a designer purse that she didn’t see coming at all, Yoga lessons, and two rear tires for her car. For the latter present, I sent her on a clue based scavenger hunt to find them.

Another interesting tradition of the Kriegs was that they do not open their stockings until evening dinner on Christmas Day…a bit different but I guess it keeps some excitement going! It should be noted at this point in time that I had gone through 3 bottles of grenadine in like 5 days…which is a lot…even for me!

The final night of our stay, I slept on the couch and apparently slept through the big excitement of the week! Other Kevin and Adam went out and came home drunk…Other Kevin with a girl. Adam woke everyone up coming in and claimed not to know where Kevin was…and then Kevin’s dog shot out the door to Kevin’s car where he was having what I am sure was a deep, intellectual conversation with a delightful young lady. All Adam could say while laughing was, “Kevin’s dog sold him out!”. Apparently the entire family was up and laughing and drunk at 3AM…while I blithely slept through it all on the couch. What can I say…I have sleeping skills! In all seriousness, I am doing a very poor imitation of how funny this story was when repeated to me…I start laughing just thinking about it.

Sunday on the trip home, we stopped in Tampa and had dinner with my little sister Kim and her friends Michelle and Ariel. It was a nice break and I had told Kim that Lindsay was only 5’2″ and very conscious of her height…so you can only image the confusion when I show up with a 6′ tall woman!

It was a great weekend and I’m thankful for the time I was able to spend with the Krieg family! They are quite awesome!

As with the rest of the family, Adam has a great sense of humor but he is very different than OTHER Kevin. Adam has a bad ass, stray, Pit Bull that he adopted when it wandered into his yard about 10 years ago. The dog is named Rusty and is just a super friendly dog. I do not think I’ve ever seen a dog that is so attached/loyal to it’s Master. I honestly believe Rusty knows that Adam saved his life…plus Rusty climbs trees!

Since I’m getting my days discombobulated, this is probably wrong but I believe the Jackson’s came over again for dinner on Christmas Eve. Liz had left with her boyfriend to be with his family in South Caroline but the Jackson’s son…Nate came this time. Nate is a freaking character. Apparently he is an on-air personality of some sort in Atlanta for a radio station. The guy is damn funny and he enjoyed teasing Grandma Mimi.

The highlight of the evening was Grandma Mimi playing Wii and at times swinging at the replay in Tennis instead of the actual live game. I’m proud to say I beat the snot out of an 80+ year old woman in Wii tennis…I’m a stone cold killer like that!

Tomorrow…Christmas!

After Norman Love, it was back to the Krieg House. The day was rather uneventful and I spent most of it reading. Lindsay’s father came home and he took the time to show me around his Bonsai collection. Mr. Krieg has roughly 20 Bonsai plants and has been studying the art form for over 3 years. I’ve always been interested in Bonsai so it was a treat to have someone explain the different styles and show me some of the techniques first hand. I’m hoping to purchase a Bonsai of my own sometime in the next few months.

Tuesday evening was Wii night. I was introduced to the fun that is Wii Fit and happily spent the next few hours playing Wii with Lindsay and her parents. Being the competitive person that I am, I of course had to break all of the records. One game in particular had me balancing on the Wii Fit Board and trying to drop marbles into holes…apparently Lindsay’s Mom was really into it and was jumping around and twitching on the couch trying to “help” me. While I was busy breaking the Hula Hoop record I was done dirty. Merrily shaking my ass, I heard Lindsay and her Mom start dying of laughter. I figured they were just amused at my wiggling ass…until the game ended and I turned around and saw the video camera…dirty!

After another hour or so of Wii…I spent the rest of the evening reading. Day 3 was going to prove interesting as I was going to meet Grandma and one of Lindsay’s brothers…stay tuned!

The first concern was that Lindsay is the baby of the family. The second is our age difference. The third were “older” brothers who I am actually older than. I’ve dated my fair share of tall women but never have I dated someone who had brothers BIGGER than me…yikes.

So…on December 21st, the drive to Fort Meyers began that would seal my fate!

Despite living in Florida my entire life, I had never been past Sarasota on the West Coast of Florida. I caught a ride with my friend Patrick who was headed that way and about 6 hours later…we made it (should have taken about 4.5 hours). Lindsay met us at a gas station and I was off to the Krieg House to meet the parents.

Upon reaching the Krieg house, I was quickly greeted by a very excited Golden Retriever/Poodle mix named Callie. Interesting Dog. Very smart and friendly but likes to lick a little too much for my tastes! Lindsay’s Father introduced himself…at 6’4″ and slender he is pretty good shape for being an older gentleman. Lindsay’s Mother is about 6′ tall and is very friendly…I believe I suffered a partially collapsed lung from her welcoming hug!

As it was late, I didn’t get to see much of the house and we all sat out in the living room for an hour or so just talking and getting to know each other. After that, I was led upstairs to my bedroom…which was full of books…and we called it an evening!